Disciple, Part II by L. Blankenship

Author:L. Blankenship [Blankenship, L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, fantasy, fantasy romance
Publisher: L. Blankenship
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

“M’lady? Physician Kate?”

I looked up from tucking the blankets snug under the cot, to make sure the young patient didn’t kick them off so quickly. The squire calling me trotted across the invalids’ floor from the staircase, his hood falling back in the jostling. His bright ginger hair gave him away.

“You’re Physician Kate?” Gregor asked, breathing as if he’d run all the way from the castle. Puppy-soft as he looked, I wasn’t sure if he could manage such a thing.

“We’ve met before,” I said. “At the joust.”

“Yes, m’lady. But.” He gasped one last deep breath and slowed down. “But m’lord is very specific. Has been since I brought the wrong physician. He sent me to bring you, m’lady. Right away.”

“Let me get my cloak,” I said.

While it grew colder toward the end of the Hunter’s Moon, little snow had fallen. Kiefan and his father had gone south to see to the preparations on our border, and one letter had come for me. Only one, speaking of how Kiefan missed me and chiding me a little to read so I had something to ask about. When I’d answered, I had committed Parselev’s assignment to my memory for later reading, carried the book to the castle to await Kiefan’s return, and I had much to write about the obligations of the discipled. I’d needed a second piece of paper.

There’d been no reply. The Hunter’s Moon had gone dark and turned to the first crescent of the Snow Moon, and still no reply came even though the king and prince were back in Castle Kaltkern. Surely Wenda the housemistress had brought him the book as soon as he arrived home. Had he nothing to say? Waiting had become agony.

Gregor saw me into the saddle first, then swung up behind me. The poor horse did its best to canter up the steep slope to the castle, then had to drop to a trot to carry us through the three gates. It was puffing and blowing clouds in the cold air by the time we arrived. The late afternoon sun lay against the castle walls and the innermost yard fell mostly into shadow, chill and grey. Gregor led me straight inside, leaving the horse to the stableboy.

Across the great hall and up the grand staircase we climbed, toward the King’s Council room. I slowed, realizing the squire hadn’t said why I was needed.

“Is it an illness, Gregor? Another cracked ankle?” My only call to the castle, while Kiefan was away, had been when a maid slipped on the back stairs and took a bad tumble. They’d had her laid out in the kitchen to wait for me.

Gregor stopped at the closed Council door and put a finger to his lips. I reached the top of the stairs at last — it was high and the steps steep — and heaved a weary sigh. Under my cloak, I loosened the ties on my medicine bag. If it were, Mother Love help me, the king or the queen taken ill, I had best be ready.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.